Liquid treating apparatus



Feb. 8, 1944. H. G. SCHWARZ 2,

' I w v LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS F iled Feb. 16, 194.0 4 Sheets-Shut 1 I J U/ 'INVENTOR ATTORNEY l Feb, 8, 1944. H. SCHWARZ LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 16, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTO Henry G. 5c/7war] 34 @560 ATTORNEY Feb. 8, 1944. I H. 5. SCHWARZ 2,340,990

' 1 LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 16, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 37 Flaa;

INVENTOR 0 Henry 6". ichwar 6212 ATTORNEY Feb. 8,- 1944. H. s. SCHWARZ 2,340,990

LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 16, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Henry 6'. jc/z war ATTORNEY T Patented Feb. 8, 19 44 i paratus of a character adapted for homogeni'zi g; blending; dispersing, and filteringoperationsg I a construction. the view beingjindicated'byvthe line 66 in Figure 3. h I

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional view taken. in j a plane indicated by the line 1-- 1-. in Figure 3.

Generally the liquid treating apparatus of my- I in entionv includes the provision of a treating general the apparatus is. adapted'for, usewh'erej- V the finely divided solid contents or heavier liquid I chamber indicated generally at A into'which the H material is fed and having its outlet formed by an annular screeniormin a part of the outerwall of the chamber and preferably providing the sole-j discharge means from the chamber, together with constituents of liquid material canbeitreatedto means for forcing the material through thecham e 7 remain in suspension, to be placed in'solution orv oer and the outletthereoi by centrifugal force. r be filtered therefrom to a desiredextentn More 'For the la ter-pu pose'a rotor B is pro ided whi h particularly-the invention is concerned with im,- serves to feed-the material outwardly against the proved apparatus of the character referred to 10 screenyto'carrythe material around against the w wherein the liquid material tobe treated is;:sub,-.= scre and to keep Su h ate ali a turbulent jected to a centrifugal screenin effectff .Q condition-during the timeit is being fed to and The instant invention has for its generali 'b; forced through the screen. i Y i v ject the provision of improved liquid treating ap Referring to u es and the app t paratus and methods adapted-to condition liquids 1 ud a a casting '0 which b with reference to the. finely divided s lids or mounted up n a b s r sta d H y means i heavier liquid constituents contained therei-n. fastening studs [2. The ca t g- S;'8 y Another object of the invention is to provide cular in fo m' nd in udes a Se'p fi, l3 an apparatus of the character referred to having in the form of a ring and an'upper'ring portion an inexpensive construction and which can op- 14 which is supported in spaced relation from the crate continuously to handle a large volume of lower ri g- 3 by means of a plurality of 1 1 material ina given length oftime. 5 rights l6.-

' V g l Another object of the invention is ;to provide S Seen in; igures-'3 and 5, the, lower ring-l3 apparatus and methods'of the character referred g of the'lframe castin h s m unted re n S p to which if desired an b adjusted t separate porting spider-2i to an upright drive shaft. 22. out a small proportion of the solids while treat which 1 itl 'i Q 18nd jo lled in t rust ins the remaining constituents of the material, .bearingflfl. 'Bearing'23'is m ed in in Other objects and advantages willlbe apparent case- 121 and e d t ei rner g 25, from the followingdescription of a preferred em Y h c l p ovldes a mounting ore Bearbodiment of the invention taken in connection 30' mg ae flgs h d connection Within, with th accompanying drawings, in h fx central boss 290i spider 2| to provide an adjust- Figure 1 is a plan view of the'apparatus with m nt e' e 2 ;,e d d-v e d in a the motor and the motor support omitted. n ted adj d nby s o 6 Ting Figure 2 is a sideelevational view of the ape 3! suitably-connected W 5 by W fl paratus shown in Figure l with certain parts in- -35.- i c ntsp e d; tsic c by t schematia11y bearing 30 inan uprightgbos'siQ-of a cover 34 se Figure 3 is a vertical sectional elevation takeni-l. Q l v 5- op-ring 10 .thevframc in a plane indicated by the line 3-3 in Eigureflll a n with flangej 1 9 1 f. U -l n Figure 3A is a detailed view of 'one of the "imf R 5 Pr ded with -i a peuers n conicalsurface 39;;having'liquid,impelling and. Figure 4 is a detailed enlarged view of oneoifl-t; d te gm the for'mof spaced oo e the liquid controlling and directing surfacesot? (F 'S-=" *a i imedg. the n' a referred o the treating chamber. r, I '&it ti Y Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional View taken "Be ee he, DQ 1Jan M 0f the at right angles tothe plane of Figure-3 as "indiframe ca'sti e scr en' 4- I'd-mou te n a'scr oated" by the line 55 in Figure 1. 1 The shaft nd-pref i' v,- s re n and the s reen and bearing cage are shown in elevation, frame are made in'two similar semi-circular sec- V Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional'v iew withfif 'tion's which-gal suitably he e he dlin certain parts broken'awayto illustrate details or place in manner later d c dseen in Figul-es i5 and 7, each screen frame section 43 has vupper and lower ring portions .44 and 46 which jare' joined by ciltcumfereritiallyz spacedvertical 'j ribs 41, the vertical ribs themselves being in turn joined by horizontally extending ribs 48 which are port the screen 42. The spacing of horizontal ribs 48 provides annular discharge slots for liquid materials passing through the screen. The edges of the screen are received in machined grooves in the opposed faces of upper and lower ring portions 44 and 48, the screen being slid endwise into the grooves during assembly. As seen in Figure 5, the lower ring portion 46 of the screen frame has a depending flange 49 engaging a complemental seat in ring (Figs. 3 and 5) which may be suitably secured as by studs 52 to lower ring portion I3 of the frame casting.

Each frame section 43 of the screen assembly is held in place by a semi-circular outlet conduit 53, the two housings 53 being similar and having abutting end flanges 54 secured together as by bolts 55 (Fig. 7). As seen in Figs, 3, 5, and '7, each outlet conduit is provided with an inwardly projecting flange 56 at its upper edge overlapping top ring portion 44 of the screen frame, while the lower wall of the conduit 53 (Fig. 5) rests on lower ring part l3 of the frame and has its edge in flush abutting relation to lower ring 46 of the screen frame. When the two conduits 53 are bolted together about the screen frame sections 43, the screen frame sections are held securely in place.

The ring 5| (Figs. 3, 5, and 6) is threaded as at 51 to receive a throat ring 58 having peripheral gear teeth 59 on a lower flange thereof for engagement with an adjusting gear wheel 60 secured on a shaft 6| journaled in spaced bosses 62 of the frame casting and having a handle 63 at its upper end. The gear 60 (Fig. 6) is also provided with a series of apertures for engagement by a locking pin 64 carried by upper boss 62 (Fig. 3). The function of the adjustment of the throat member 58 will be referred to hereinafter. To close the bottom of the chamber A, plate 66 is provided, having sealed engagement at 61 with the shaft 22 (Fig. 3) and releasably secured to throat ring 58 as by stud and washer means 68. At its outer edge plate 68 has a raised face 69 provided with a central annular groove 1|). Face 69 of ring 66 is placed in flush sealing engagement with the bottom face of rotor B by vertical adjustment of throat ring 58.

The centrifugal feeding rotor B is provided in the form of a disc 16 suitably secured on a flange 11 of shaft 22 and having its outer edge reduced to receive upper and-lower retaining rings '18 and 19 secured thereon by bolts 89. The retaining rings 18 and I9 serve to clamp a plurality of impellers 8| and 82 about the periphery of the rotor B. For this purpose, the rings 18 and 19 have opposed flanges 83 to engage over end flanges 84 of the impellers. Impellers 8| and 82 are also secured to disc 16 and located with respect thereto by countersunk studs 85. Impellers 8| have straight sides, while the impellers 82 (Fig. 3A) which in the embodiment shown comprise two diametrically opposed similar paddles have their leading edges slightly inclined, say about '15", to the vertical to force material downwardly.

To provide a drive for the apparatus a suitable motor support 88 (Fig. 2) may be secured on top of the frame casting to support a motor (not shown) having a coupling for engagement with the drive coupling 81 at the upper end of drive shaft 22. The motor employed should be capable of rotating the shaft at a high rate of speed in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figures 6 and 7, say in the neighborhood of 3600 R. P. M. Drive coupling 81 may be secured in placeby fastening nut 88 having a right-hand threaded engagement with shaft 22 so that the counterclockwise rotation tends to tighten the nut in the shaft. 7 To feed material into the chamber A the cover 5 34 may be provided with a pair of feed openings 89 on which feed pipes 9|) may be secured as indicated schematically in Fig. 5. One or both of feed pipes 98 may be employed to feed the liquid material into the treating chamber, or, if desired, one of pipes 90 may be employed to introduce a treating medium. For example, an inert gas such as nitrogen may be introduced to exclude oxygen from the treating chamber. Because of the substantially flat upper surface of rotor B and the constricted space between the rotor and ring 38, a liquid seal is formed which will maintain a gaseous agent such as nitrogen in the upper portion of the chamber without loss through the screens.

To throw material outwardly of the chamber A above the rotor B, said rotor may be equipped with a series of angularly disposed impellers 9| (Figs. 3 and 7), whose outer edges trail slightly with respect to a radial line so that material impinging thereagainst will be thrown outwardly toward conical surface 39 of the ring 38. As seen in Figures 3 and 7, impellers 9| have their outer ends spaced closely with reference to surface 39 and have a complemental taper. Grooves 49 of conical wall 39 are formed with an inclined side wall 92 over which liquid is received and a straight wall 93 forming a tooth against which the liquid impinges to be directed downwardly and outwardly in accordance with the conical slant of surface 39. Closely adjacent the beveled lower edge of surface 39 upper clamping ring 18 of rotor B is provided with an opposed conical surface 94 having grooves 95 formed therein.

Grooves 95 have their trailing edges formed substantially vertically to act as teeth or impellers, and also angularly with respect to a radius line with their outer edges in trailing position. The tooth-like construction of grooves 40 and 95 in the closely spaced apart surfaces 39 and 94 may be utilized also for a comminuting action, if desired, and this action may be controlled by the vertical positioning of rotor vB as adjusted by bearing cage 24.

From the above description it is seen that material introduced into chamber A will be thrown outwardly by the impellers 9| on the top surface of the rotor B against the conical wall surface 39 to be directed downwardly and outwardly through the narrow annular passage afforded between the conical surface 94 at the outer edge of upper retaming ring 18 of the rotor and the beveled edge of the conical surface 39 opposed thereto. The liquid is then forced downwardly between the rotor B and the-screen 42 into the annular space or chamber section indicated at 96 which is completely filled with the liquid.

The liquid is carried around by the rotor B and its impellers 8| and 82 so that it is forced against the screen 42 by centrifugal force as well as by the pressure of the additional liquid in the upper portion of the chamber A which is trying to force its way downwardly between the rotor and the screen. To assist in the rotation of the liquid the lower retaining ring 19 of the rotor is also provided with spaced grooves 91 which provide additional impelling means and are opposed to a smooth conical surface 98 of the lower ring portion 46 of the screen frame, providing a narrow annular passage which is directed downwardly and outwardly and then reversely over the conical surface 99 at the upper end of the throat ring 58. The lower end of the chamber, therefore, is closed by the sealing engagement of the raised face 69 with the lower face of the rotor. The groove in such face tends to collect material which will act as a seal during the relative rotation between the rotor and the face 69.

The screen 42 as shown has its apertures somewhat exaggerated to more clearly bring out its construction. In practice the size of the apertures are selected in accordance with the characteristics of the material to be treated. The material of the screen may be of any suitable non-corrosive material such as stainless steel or acid resistant rubber as may be required for the charged through the outlet conduit 53 which has 1 discharge opening |0| in communication with a suitable discharge pipe I92. If desired, a vacuum may be applied to pipe I02 to aid in the discharge of material through the screen. Preferably the outlet conduit 53 is also provided with a second integrally formed passage I03 which extends from end to end thereof for the passage of steam or some other suitable medium where it is desired to control the temperature of the material being treated. V

For filtering operations the bottom closure plate 66 may be dropped by removing stud and washer assemblies 68, so that the lower end of the annular chamber portion 96 is open, the size of the opening being controlled by the spacing of the conical surface 99 of the ring 58 with respect to the conical surface I04 on the rotor. adjusting the ring 58 this spacing can be adjusted so that a desired amount of the solids in the liquid being treated can be gradually fed downwardly and outwardly from the chamber.

In thisconnection it will be noted that because of the spacing between the rotor and the screen, a layer of the solids to be filtered from the liquid will be built up on the screen 42 to form a filter aperture may be employed than for products such as milk where the heavier constituents are of a liquid character. For example, in homogenizing a vegetable material such as carrot juice, a screen having apertures of a diameter in the order of .005 to .006 inch may be employed.

Carrot juice aswell as other similar fruit and vegetable juices when extracted and heated to a pasteurizing temperature is subject to coagulation of a considerable proportion of certain of its constituents in particles of sufficient size to cause settling or separating out upon standing to leave a substantially clear liquor. For the homogenizing' operation the carrot juice after heating to or above its final coagulation temperature is introduced into the feeding portion of the treating chamber A above the rotor with the rotor rotating at an appropriate speed, for example in the neighborhood of 3600 R. P. M. The juice is picked up by the impellers 9|, is given a rotational direction of travel about the chamber, and is carried radially out over the top surface of the rotor to impinge against the conical surface 39 and be directed downwardly through the re- By suitably bed and that this is maintained at a constant desired thickness by the wiping action of the impellers 8|, 82 as they travel around the screen. The thickness of the filter bed may be controlled by selecting the spacing between the outer edges of the impellers 8|, 82 and the screen, either by varying the radial dimension of the impellers or the inner radius of the screen or both. Obviously, if desired, all of the impellers may have straight faces as shown at 8| or inclined faces as at 82. If the bottom opening is constricted sufficiently a greater proportion of solids will be forced through the screen in a filtering operation by the continued application of pressure thereto, While if it is open substantially as shown practically all of the solids can be filtered out of liquids.

For homogenizing operation, the apparatuscan be adjusted as shown in the drawings with the bottom closure plate 66 inplace. A screen 42 is employed having the appropriate size of .raperture fOlljrfl material to be treated. In genstricted annular space between the rotor surface 94 and the casing surface 39, so that it is whirled about rapidly and is forced outwardly and downwardly into the annular space 96 between the screen 42 and the rotor. As the coagulated particles pass between the grinding teeth on the rotor and the casing the larger coagulated protein masses will be broken up.

In the treating space 96 the material is picked up by the impellers 8| and 82 and carried rapidly around the screen and at the same time is forced outwardly by centrifugal force against the screen 42, so as to be forced through the apertures therein.

During the rapid rotation of the liquid materials the impingement of the solid constituents against the impelling and directing surfaces as well as the screen apertures tends to break up the larger particles. In passing through the apertures of the screen, the particles are further broken up and reduced in size so that they will remain in suspension in the liquid. The discharged material from the screen is carried out through the respective openings NH and the discharge pipes |IJ2 to a can filling machine or for other suitable disposition. The resulting carrot juice has a high proportion of nutritive and flavoring constituents, and is of a consistency to keep a large proportion of the solid particles in suspension in the liquid.

It will be understood that with different materials the speed of rotation of rotor B and the size apertures of the screen are selected in accordance with the characteristics of the material to be homogenized, so .-that breaking up of the larger particles of the heavier constituents of the liquid material occurs.

In treating the liquid materials. a combined homogenizing and filtering action can be provided, so as to obtain a juice containing a desired amount of pulp constituents, while the consistency of the juice is such that the pulp particles will remain in suspension and not settle out upon standing.

To further adjust the machine for filtering out undesired solid constituents, where it is desired to remove a portion of the pulp and perform a filtering operation, the bottom plate 66 may be dropped down to provide a bottom opening in the treating chamber, and the throat ring 58 is adjusted upwardly to provide the desired reper opposed surfaces 39 and 94.

striction between the opposed surfaces 99 and The filtering operation can be controlled I 94. to remove a desired amount of pulp even where all the pulp constituents are ofa size to pass through the screen openings. Thespacing between these 'loweropp0sed. surf-acesis usually slightly less. than thespacing between the up- When the liquid material is introduced into the chamber A it is thrown outwardly andwhirled rapidly by the rotor B to pass" downwardly through the narrow restriction at 39, 94 into the annular treating portion 95 of the treating chain-- Within the treating chamber, th e. -.liq uid ber. is carried about the screen rapidly by the impelling blades 8i and 82 to be impelled against the s-'reenby centrifugal force. A layer of solid con- Stituentsof the material tends to build up upon theZsQreen-JZJO form a filter bed and the thickness of this layer is controlled by the lateral spacing, provided between the impeller blades 8|, "*82 and the screen 42: By controlling there- ,striction of the discharge throat by adjustment of tli'ejthroatring 58, the rateof discharge of -the-heai'l f;ier pulp constituents. can be controlled In' this way the. heavier solid constituents can be worked downwardlyandoutwardly past the throat ring' 58fwhile --the juice and'the lighter soli'dfconstituents are forced outwardly through the screen 42 for discharge. The adjustment of the throat-"opening at" the bottom of the annular chamber portion '96 determines the proportion of the' discarded solids to theisolids forced through the screen-,with the juice. The solid particlesforced through the, screen are of a size so that a large proportion will remain in suspension in the juice, s otha't a stable product is produced. i

-; .The filtering portion of the above described operation canbe-employed with certain types of liquid material to perform a complete filtering operation by opening the throat ring to discharge thedesired amount of solid material and 1 providing 'apertures'of the proper size to exclude be introduced {into the rotor..with the bottom. f plate 66 in'pos'ition'to close the bottom of the treating chamber so'that all 'ofthe-material will I be forced out through thefscreen to perform an efficient 'mixing or blending action.

lclaimz;

thereof. 3

2. In a liquid treating machine, means formingan annular treating chamber including a cas ing and a'rotor mounted therein for rotation." about an upright axis,'said treating chamber"'-- having a feeding portion above said rotor'anda restricted annular treating portion about the periphery thereof defined by a screenforming the outlet ofsaid chamber and spaced radially outward from the outer wall. of saidfeeding por-;-,

tion, and means for directing liquid downwardly and outwardly from said'feeding portion to said treating portion, said outer wall of said feeding portionbeing of frusto-conical shape and diverging downwardly to. direct material toward said 7 treating portion.

3. In a liquid treating machine, means forming an annular treating chamber including a-casing and rotor mounted therein for rotation about an material whichis not desirediin the filtered liquid.

' In treating many products it is desirable to exclude air so that, if desired, one of the inlet pipes 90. can be used for introduction of an inert gas a such as nitrogen, the juice itself being introduced through the other of the intake pipes 99. The juice is introduced in sufficient volume to be distributed throughout the upper portion of the through the valve, which may then be closed. ,Subsequently. during operation the feeding of liquid material maybe controlled to prevent the en'tryof air with the liquid material. In some instances it may be desirable to break up lumps or larger.particlesin which event the teeth of the opposed surfaces 39 and 94 may be 'employed to'break up or macerate the larger particles so that theywill be in a proper condition for treatment by, he centrifugal screening -effect.

' Fordispersing operationaiforeirample in .dis-

upright axis, said treating chamber having a feeding portion above said rotor and a restricted annular treating portion about the periphery thereof defined by a' screen forming the outlet of said chamber and spaced radially outward from the outer wall of said feeding portion, means fordirecting liquid dowwardly and outwardly from said feeding portion to said treating portion, said outer wall of said feeding portion being of frusto-conical shape and divergingv downwardly to direct material toward said treat ing portion, and impelling means on the upper surface of said rotor, said impelling means including a blade having its outer edge spaced closely from said outer wall and formed complementary thereto.

4. In a liquid treating machine, means forming an annular treating chamber including a casing and a rotor mounted therein for rotation about an upright axis, said treating chamber being formed above said rotor and about the periphery thereof, a screen mounted in said casing about the periphery of said rotor to form the outlet from said chamber, andfannular sealing means engaging the bottom surface of said rotor adjacent the outer edge'thereof, the annular line of sealing engagement being separated from said peripheral treating portion of said chamber by an annular passage having a portion extend- 'ing downwardly and outwardly from said peripheral-treating portion. a

5. In a liquid treating machine, means forme ing an annular treating chamber including a 09.5-- ing and a rotor mounted therein for rotation about an upright axis, said treating chamber being formed above said rotor and about the periphery thereof, a screen mounted in said casing about'the periphery of said rotor to form the outlet from said chamber, a-- restricted passage I I *at'the upperedge' of said rotorpandmeans for adjusting said rotor axially to vary the size of said restricted passage.

6. In a liquid treating machine, means forming an annular treating chamber including a casing and a rotor mounted therein for rotation about an upright axis, said treating chamber including an annular portion about the periphery of said rotor, a screen mounted in said casing to form the outer wall of said treating portion, said rotor and said casing having opposed sets of annularly disposed teeth at the entrance portion of said restricted treating portion of said chamber, and means for effecting relative axial adjustment between said rotor and said chamber to control the size of said restricted entrance portion.

7. In a liquid treating machine, means forming an-annular treating chamber including a casing and a rotor mounted therein for rotation about an upright axis, said treating chamber including a restricted annular portion about the periphery of said rotor defined by a screen forming an outlet from said chamber, and means forming, a restricted annular discharge passage at the bottom of said annular portion of said chamber including a frusto-conical surface on said rotor and an adjustable throat ring mounted for axial adjustment and having a frusto-conical face opposed to said face on said rotor.

8. In a liquid treating machine, means forming a treating chamber including a casing and' a retor mounted therein for rotation about an upright axis, said treating chamber including a restricted annular space about the periphery of said rotor, annular screen means forming the outer wall of said restricted space, said screen means being made up of removably mounted screen sections, and means for clamping said sections in place including discharge conduits for receiving the liquid material discharged through said screen.

9. In a liquid treating machine, means forming an annular treating chamber including a casing and a rotor mounted therein for rotation about an upright axis, said treating chamber including a feeding portion above said rotor and a restricted treating portion about the periphery thereof, means carried by said rotor in said feeding portion for directing liquid material radially outward of the rotor .while at the same time applying a whirling motion thereto, a screen about said restricted treating portion, means opposed to said screen for impelling material around said screen, and means closing the bottom of said restricted treating portion whereby to cause all of the liquid material to pass out through said screen.

10. In a liquid treating machine, means forming an annular treating chamber including a means for comminuting material as it is so dicasing and a rotor mounted therein for rotation about an upright axis, said treating chamber including a feeding portion above said rotor and a restricted treating portion about the periphery thereof, means carried by said rotor in said feeding portion for directing liquid material radially outward'of the rotor while at the same time applying a whirling motion thereto, means for comminuting material as it is fed from said feeding portion to said treating portion, a screen about said restricted treating portion, means opposed to said screen for impelling material around said screen, and means closing the bottom of said re-. stricted treating portion whereby to cause all of the liquid material to pass out through said screen.

11. In a machine for treating liquid bearing material, means forming an annular treating chamber including a casing and a rotor mounted therein for rotation about an upright axis, said treating chamber having a feeding portion above said rotor and a restricted annular treating portion about the periphery thereof and spaced radially outward from the outer wall of said feeding portion, the outer wall of said treating portion including an annular screen, impelling means on the periphery of said rotor within said treating portion and spaced from said screen, means for directing material downwardly and outwardly from said feeding portion to said treating portion, means for comminuting material as it is so directed, and discharge means for receiving material constituents directly from said treating portion and for discharging such constituents from the machine.

12. In a machine for treating liquid bearing material, means forming an annular treating chamber including a casing and a rotor mounted, therein-for rotation about an upright axis, said treating chamber having a feeding portion above said rotor and a restricted annular treating portion about the periphery thereof and spaced radially outward from the outer wall of said feeding portion, the outer wall of said treating portion including an annular screen, impelling means on the periphery of said rotor within said treating portion and spaced from said screen, means for directing material downwardly and outwardly from said feeding portion to said treating portion,

rected, and discharge means including an annular discharge opening in direct communication with said treating portion and means for varying the width of said opening to control the character of the discharged material.

HENRY G. SCHWARZ. 

